An employee of Mule Creek State Prison in Ione was one of six state employees honored Wednesday for their commitment to increasing contracts to California State businesses and companies operated by disabled veterans. Robin McCune, of Mule Creek’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, was awarded the Advocate of the Year Bronze Medal by the State and Consumer Services Agency, or SCSA, in a ceremony at Sacramento State University. According to the SCSA, McCune helped facilitate research on how to expand and improve the use of the disabled veterans business enterprises Web site content by transferring the data into user - friendly formats. McCune succesfully merged databases so staff could distinguish vendor information by goods or services. The ceremony and subsequent awards come as the result of a direction by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 that his administration do at least 25 percent of its purchasing and contracting through certified small businesses and at least 3 percent with disabled veterans business enterprises. The State Agency Recognition Awards honored employees for their innovation and outstanding service in working to meet the governor’s goals. In the words of SCSA Secretary Rosario Marin, “our Governor knows small businesses are a vital resource to state government and the California economy and has raised the bar for departments and agencies to expand the role of small firms and disabled veteran businesses doing business with us." Story by Alex Lane.